Boy testifies against former foster parent in sex case

GASTON COUNTY,
N.C. —

An 11-year-old boy
said his foster father sexually assaulted him multiple times a week when he was
6- and 7-years-old.

The child testified
Tuesday morning that George Steen would molest him while the two showered
together. His foster mother was sometimes in the Lincolnton home at the time
but unaware of the molestation, the child said.

“I tried to scream
the first day and the second day but he covered my mouth,” the boy said from
the witness stand. “He was doing wrong things to me.”

Allegations of
abuse

The child was
taken from his mother and put into foster care in 2005, at the age of 4. He
lived with the Steens on and off until he turned 8.

The boy said that
Steen threatened to punish him if he told anyone what they did in the shower.
Steen also told the child that no one believes a kid anyway.

The Steens were
certified foster parents. According to the child’s testimony, he struggled to
tell the truth in the past. If he told a lie, the boy would be made to eat soap
when living with the Steens, the child testified.

The boy didn’t
speak of the alleged abuse until he was placed in another foster home. One day
while watching TV with his new foster mother the boy spoke of his relationship
with Steen.

Lincoln County
Department of Social Services was called, and Steen was charged with three
counts of child sex assault.

Steen’s attorney,
T.J. Wilson, said during opening statements Monday that the boy has a history
of lying.

The defense has
not yet had its chance to present evidence or witnesses.

Mental and
emotional issues

Several
psychologists and social workers testified in Steen’s trial Tuesday.

One psychologist
talked of the child’s current mental state. He functions at a second-grade
level and has sexual behavior issues. The boy suffers from depression, ADHD,
expressive language disorder and reactive attachment disorder, according to
specialists.

Like many children
who have suffered sex abuse, the boy now expresses sexual predatory behavior.
He now lives in a facility for children who display such behaviors.

Seven years in
foster care

TheLincolnCountychild
moved in with the Steens at age 4. It was his first foster home. His stay was
short – just 21 days.

Social Services
moved the boy to another family where his two sisters had gone. But taking on
three children proved too much for those foster parents so the boy was removed
from the home and returned to the Steens.

The child spent
the next two-and-a-half years in the Steens’ home.

DSS attempted
again to reunite the boy with family, returning him to his mother. But that
attempt was short-lived. A month later he went into a group home. He spent six
days there before being placed with another family.

The boy began
acting out, according to social workers, and he was taken to a hospital for 10
days where his medications were leveled out.

He was returned to
the Steens’ home in December 2007 where he stayed until February 2009.

At age 8 the child
was transferred to another family for four days followed by a group home for
nine days.

His next family
kept him for three months before he was sent again to a group home.

In 2009, the child
was placed with a family for nine months. That’s where he reported the alleged
abuse.

The child now
lives in a psychiatric residential treatment facility where his sexual and
behavioral issues can be addressed.

On the stand

The boy was
visibly uncomfortable when talking about sex in front of a room full of people.
He told Lincoln County Assistant District Attorney Beth Lari that he was
nervous and just wanted to finish his testimony.

He gripped a small
stuffed animal. He said the toy was a way to calm his nerves.

The boy said he
didn’t want to talk about it, but he wanted to make sure Steen didn’t victimize
anyone else.

“That’s why I
told,” he said. “I didn’t want no one else to be involved with this.”

The child left the
courtroom Tuesday morning once he finished his testimony.

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